GLENDALE, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: Defensive tackle Mitch Unrein #96 of the Denver Broncos during the preseason NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 1, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Broncos 26-7. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

From left to right, the main jersey display begins with two racks of Peyton Manning’s No. 18 — one set of orange, another of white — and then there’s a rack of Champ Bailey No. 24 orange jerseys.

Then it’s one stall of No. 27 Knowshon Moreno shirts (no, smart aleck, they haven’t been thrown in the discount bin), followed by Elvis Dumervil’s No. 92, Mitch Unrein’s No. 96 and another set of Manning jerseys. The next row begins with Von Miller’s No. 58, more Manning’s No. 18, Demaryius Thomas’ No. 88, the No. 87 of Eric Decker and finally two more stacks of No. 18.

It was several hours before the Broncos would begin their whipping of the Oakland Raiders and … wait a minute.

Killing time with a walk-through at the Broncos’ team store at Sports Authority Field at Mile High last Sunday, I came to a stop. I went back and looked again at the main display of Broncos jerseys.

Bigger than I thought. I approached Unrein last week in the Broncos’ locker room at Dove Valley. I was just starting to set up my story by explaining how I walked through the stadium’s team store when he cut in.

“I know what you’re going to say,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

Unrein is from the Colorado town of Eaton, but even with a recent growth spurt, its current population of nearly 4,500 doesn’t explain the status he has attained with his own jersey rack. Joel Dreessen, a starting tight end who scores touchdowns for goodness’ sake, is from the larger Colorado town of Fort Morgan (pop. 11,400), and his jersey isn’t hanging in the main display.

“What can I say? I have a big family,” Unrein said. “I think I have 46 first cousins just on my mom’s side. And they all have kids. I can’t even remember all the names of my nieces and nephews on that side.”

Kay Cure grew up about a 150-mile drive due east on Interstate 70 in Stratton. She met Mike Unrein, who grew up in Sterling. Together, Mike and Kay had six children. The oldest, Nicole and Natalie, were accomplished swimmers.

Then came four boys, Michael, Marty, Mark and the youngest, Mitch. Michael and Mark played football at the University of Northern Colorado.

“Both were good football players and both had knee problems,” Mitch said.

The baby of the family played at Wyoming. Some friends told him about his position of prominence, between Elvis and Peyton, at the team store.

As the Unrein story goes, Mitch says, his ancestors fled Germany for Russia around the 1880s and eventually made their way to the United States. They settled in Kansas, then northeastern Colorado. Terry Unrein grew up in Brighton to be a 6-foot-5, 280-pound nose tackle who played for Colorado State and the San Diego Chargers.

“I think he’s like my fourth or fifth cousin,” Mitch Unrein said.

Most of the Broncos jerseys at the team store are shipped in. But the nice young lady working at the store said they made up the Unrein jerseys in the back room after receiving a large number of requests.

As of Friday, though, the only Unrein No. 96 jerseys available were in road white. The home orange No. 96 jerseys had sold out.

What’s up: In nearly pulling off an upset at Arizona last week, the 6-foot-3, 258-pound Wake had not one, not two, not three, not four, but 4½ sacks of Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Background: Kind of, sort of, almost a Bronco, Wake is one of the league’s best background stories. Although he played his college ball as Derek Wake at high-profile Penn State, no one in the NFL saw Wake’s talent. He signed as an undrafted rookie with the Giants in 2005, but was cut before training camp. He worked in 2006 as a mortgage broker, then took a job as a personal trainer at a Bally’s Fitness Center, where his name tag accidentally identified him by his middle name, Cameron. He wound up in the Canadian Football League in 2007 as Cameron Wake, and the B.C. Lions switched him to defensive end. Wake had three sacks in his first game and finished with 16 sacks to win all of the top CFL defensive honors. The next year, he had 23 sacks. And then the NFL decided he could play. There were 17 teams — including the Broncos — who tried to sign him before the 2009 season. No CFL player had received more than a $100,000 signing bonus with an NFL team. The Broncos offered him $300,000, but he wound up taking a $1 million bonus from the Dolphins. Wake had 14½ sacks in 2010, 8½ sacks in 2011. And in May, he signed a four-year, $49 million extension with a $20 million guarantee.

Klis’ take: Wake sacked Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow twice in a game at Miami last year, so he’s not unfamiliar to Denver fans. But when guys like Wake fall through the draft cracks, it proves that all NFL teams are understaffed in the college evaluating process.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

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